Countries That Start With F: The Complete List, Explained

Three is a very small number for a whole letter of the alphabet. Only a handful of letters produce shorter sovereign state lists, which is why the F list is so often padded out. Quiz sites, classroom posters, and copied listicles add territories until the list looks more substantial, and each addition feels plausible because the places added are genuinely called by F names. The result is a spread of answers: some pages say 3, some say 4 or 5, some say 7, and at least one says 8. All of those longer answers are counting something other than sovereign countries, and this article shows you, name by name, what that something is.

The standard used here is the one geographers and reference works rely on, and it is the same standard used for the companion E list in this series: a “country” is a sovereign state, and the cleanest test of that is membership of the United Nations. The UN has 193 member states. Checking the member list from Fiji through France produces exactly three names beginning with F, and no fourth name is hiding anywhere in it.

The complete list of countries that start with F

Country	Capital	Region	Population (rounded estimate)	One thing to know
Fiji	Suva	Oceania (South Pacific)	About 903,000 (2026)	An archipelago of about 300 islands, of which about 100 are inhabited
Finland	Helsinki	Northern Europe	About 5.7 million (2025)	About one third of its territory lies north of the Arctic Circle
France	Paris	Western Europe	About 68.5 million (2025)	The largest of the three by both population and area, and a permanent member of the UN Security Council

Population figures are rounded recent estimates from Encyclopaedia Britannica and the CIA World Factbook, date stamped in the table because estimates are revised every year and because different sources use different reference years. Fiji illustrates the point: Britannica estimates about 903,000 people for 2026, while the CIA World Factbook estimates about 952,000 for 2024. Those figures do not contradict each other in any dramatic way; they are estimates for different years from different publications, and the table uses the more recent Britannica figure with that difference stated rather than hidden.

Meet the three countries

Fiji

Fiji is the only F country in Oceania, and it is the only one of the three that is an island nation in the warm Pacific rather than a European state. It lies in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Vanuatu and southwest of Samoa, about 2,100 kilometers north of New Zealand. Britannica describes it as a country and archipelago of some 540 islets and 300 islands, of which about 100 are inhabited, with the two large islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, carrying most of the population. The capital, Suva, stands on the southeast coast of Viti Levu and serves as the country’s major port and its political, economic, and cultural center.

Fiji’s modern history runs through Britain. The first settlers arrived from Melanesia some 3,500 years ago, according to Britannica, and the islands were sighted by Europeans in the 17th century before becoming a British crown colony in 1874. Fiji became independent as a member of the Commonwealth in 1970, and its own Permanent Mission to the United Nations records the sequence precisely: Fiji became the 127th member of the United Nations on October 13, 1970, just three days after gaining independence from the United Kingdom. It was declared a republic in 1987 following a military coup, and elections in 1992 restored civilian rule.

What defines Fiji today, beyond its beaches and reefs, is the combination Britannica summarizes in its economy and society: a market economy based largely on agriculture, particularly sugar production, together with tourism and light industries, in a society where most Fijians are of mixed Melanesian and Polynesian ancestry with a large South Asian minority. English is an official language alongside Fijian, and the currency is the Fiji dollar. Fiji also includes the dependency of Rotuma, an island about 640 kilometers to the northwest of the main group, a reminder that even a small island state can have its own far flung parts. For a letter list, Fiji matters because it is the proof that the F list is not a European list: one of its three members sits on the opposite side of the world from the other two.

Finland

Finland is the northernmost country on this list in spirit as well as in geography. It is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, bordering Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Its capital and largest city is Helsinki, on the southern coast, where most of the population lives. Britannica Kids puts the shape of the country in a single striking fact: about one third of the territory of Finland lies north of the Arctic Circle, and the harsh climate in the north makes settlement difficult there, so most Finns live in the southern third of the country, along the Baltic coast, the Gulf of Finland, or around the edges of its many lakes. The country has over 180,000 recorded lakes, and its land is predominantly covered by boreal forest.

Finland’s path to the present runs through two empires. From the middle of the 13th century it became part of Sweden, and in 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, it was captured from Sweden and became an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Finland declared its independence, and its status as a republic was confirmed in 1919. During World War II it fought against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and later against Nazi Germany in the Lapland War, losing parts of its territory to the Soviet Union but retaining its independence and democracy. During the Cold War it embraced an official policy of neutrality. After the Cold War it became a member of the European Union in 1995 and of the Eurozone in 1999, and following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine it joined NATO in 2023, becoming the alliance’s 31st member on April 4 of that year.

Finland joined the United Nations on December 14, 1955, later than either of its list mates, because its postwar position kept it outside the organization for its first decade. Its official languages are Finnish and Swedish, the mother tongues of about 83.5 percent and 5.0 percent of the population respectively. Finland is the middle country of the three by population, at about 5.7 million people, and it is the only F country where you can stand north of the Arctic Circle in one part of the country and in a Baltic port city in another on the same trip.

France

France is the country most people name first from this list, and it dominates it by size: about 68.5 million people on a total area of 643,801 square kilometers according to the CIA World Factbook, with metropolitan France accounting for 551,500 square kilometers of that total. Its capital, largest city, and main cultural and economic center is Paris, on the river Seine in the center of the Ile-de-France region, with a metropolitan population of over 13 million. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the northeast, Switzerland to the east, Italy and Monaco to the southeast, and Andorra and Spain to the south, with a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest, and its territory extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea.

France is an original member of the United Nations, admitted on October 24, 1945, and it plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, as well as a member of NATO, the G-7, the G-20, and the European Union. The CIA World Factbook notes two facts that explain much of modern France: since 1958 it has used a hybrid presidential and parliamentary governing system built to resist the instabilities of earlier, more purely parliamentary administrations, and in recent decades its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to European economic integration, including the introduction of the common currency, the euro, in January 1999. France rejoined NATO’s integrated military command structure in 2009, reversing President Charles de Gaulle’s 1966 decision to withdraw French forces from it.

France is also the F country that causes the most confusion in the territories section below, because so many F named places belong to it. Five French overseas entities, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion, became French regions and were made part of France proper in the early 21st century, according to the Factbook. That is precisely why French Guiana, although it begins with F and although it sits on another continent, is not a separate country on this list: legally, it is part of France, which is already counted here. France’s 18 integral regions, five of which are overseas, span a combined area of 632,702 square kilometers in one common reckoning, and the difference between that figure and the Factbook’s 643,801 square kilometers is another example of why this article dates and sources its figures instead of presenting them as exact.

Places that begin with F but are not countries

If you count every inhabited place whose name begins with F, you get a longer list than three. Here are the five F names most often added, with the status that keeps each one off the sovereign state list. None of them is obscure or unimportant; each simply fails the sovereign state test for a stated reason.

The Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing overseas administrative division within the Kingdom of Denmark, a status they have held since 1948, and they are not part of the European Union. They sit in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway, they run most of their own domestic affairs, and they have a distinct language and culture. What they do not have is a seat at the United Nations or an independent foreign policy: Denmark handles that. Lists that give “4 countries that start with F” are almost always adding the Faroe Islands as the fourth, and the honest version of that list would label it a territory, not a country.

The Falkland Islands. The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, with a small population recorded at 2,931 in a 2016 compilation of dependent territories. Their sovereignty is disputed: Argentina claims the islands, which it calls the Islas Malvinas, and the dispute is part of why the name itself is sensitive. For list purposes the dispute does not change the classification either way: whether you call them the Falkland Islands or the Malvinas, they are a territory administered by the United Kingdom, not a sovereign state, so they do not belong on a list of countries.

French Guiana. French Guiana is an overseas department of France on the northern coast of South America, between Brazil and Suriname, and it is legally part of France itself, inside the European Union, using the euro. It is not to be confused with Guyana, which is a separate sovereign English speaking country that sits on the same coast and is filed under G. French Guiana begins with F; France begins with F; they are the same sovereign state counted once, not two countries.

French Polynesia. French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific, designated as an overseas country within the French Republic since 2004, but it is not a sovereign state and it has no UN seat. Its islands, including Tahiti, are among the best known in the Pacific. Fame and size do not make a sovereign state, and lists that add French Polynesia as a fourth or fifth “country” are counting a collectivity as if it were independent.

The French Southern and Antarctic Lands. This is the F name that takes some lists from 7 to 8. It is an overseas territory of France, administered from Saint Pierre on Réunion Island, covering scattered islands in the southern Indian Ocean together with Adelie Land, the French claimed sector of Antarctica. It has no permanent population: its residents are scientists and support staff on rotation. A territory with no permanent population and no sovereignty cannot be a country on any standard, and it is included here only because completeness demands naming it. If a list you find claims 8 F countries, it has almost certainly added this territory to the four above.

The name lists get wrong: Micronesia

The single most instructive error on F lists has nothing to do with territories. At least one published list gives five F countries, adding “the Federated States of Micronesia” to Fiji, Finland, France, and the Faroe Islands. Micronesia is a real sovereign state and a real UN member, but it does not belong under F, because reference lists file countries under their short form names, not their formal names. The United Nations lists the state as “Micronesia (Federated States of),” filed under M, in exactly the same way that Egypt is filed under E even though its formal name, the Arab Republic of Egypt, begins with A. Under the naming rule this article applies consistently, Micronesia belongs on the M list, and any F list that includes it has confused a formal name with the name the country is known by. The companion C list makes the same point in reverse: a country whose formal name begins with one letter is still filed under its short name.

Why lists disagree

Nearly every disagreement about this list comes from one of three causes. First, what counts as a country: lists that quietly include territories will always be longer than lists of sovereign states, and the length of the longer list tells you exactly which territories were added. Four means the Faroe Islands were added. Five usually means the Falkland Islands were added too, or French Polynesia. Seven means the Falkland Islands, the Faroe Islands, French Guiana, and French Polynesia were all added. Eight means the French Southern and Antarctic Lands were added as well. Second, short names versus formal names: Micronesia shows how a formal name can misfile a country by a whole letter, and the same rule explains why no other formal name adds a member to this list. Third, simple copying: letter lists are among the most copied pages on the internet, and an error in one popular list, such as the Micronesia entry or the Faroe Islands entry, propagates for years because later writers copy the list instead of rebuilding it from the UN member list. The fix for all three is the same: build the list from the UN member list, use current short form names, state the standard you used, and handle the excluded names explicitly, as this article does.

Countries that start with F at a glance

• How many: 3 sovereign states
• The full list: Fiji, Finland, France
• By region: Europe 2 (Finland, France); Oceania 1 (Fiji); Africa 0; Asia 0; the Americas 0
• Most populous: France, about 68.5 million
• Least populous: Fiji, about 903,000
• Largest by area: France, 643,801 square kilometers in total including overseas France
• Most recent to join the UN: Fiji, October 13, 1970
• Earliest to join the UN: France, October 24, 1945
• Not on the list, despite appearances: the Faroe Islands (Denmark), the Falkland Islands (United Kingdom), French Guiana (part of France), French Polynesia (France), the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (France), and Micronesia (filed under M)

Frequently asked questions

How many countries start with the letter F?

Three. Fiji, Finland, and France are the only sovereign states whose names begin with F, based on the United Nations member state list of 193 states.

Why is the Faroe Islands not on the list?

The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, not a sovereign state. They run much of their own domestic affairs, but they have no seat at the United Nations and Denmark handles their foreign policy, so lists of sovereign countries exclude them.

Is French Guiana a country?

No. French Guiana is an overseas department of France and legally part of France itself. It is a different place from Guyana, which is a separate sovereign country filed under G.

Is Micronesia a country that starts with F?

No, not under the naming rule reference lists use. The country’s formal name is the Federated States of Micronesia, but its short name is Micronesia, and the United Nations files it as “Micronesia (Federated States of)” under M.

What is the largest country that starts with F?

By both population and area, France, with about 68.5 million people and a total area of 643,801 square kilometers including overseas France. Finland is second by population at about 5.7 million, and Fiji is third at about 903,000.

What is the capital of Fiji?

Suva, on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu. It is Fiji’s major port and its political, economic, and cultural center.

Are there any countries that start with F in Africa, Asia, or the Americas?

No sovereign state in Africa, Asia, or the Americas begins with F. The F territories in the Americas are French Guiana, which is part of France, and the Falkland Islands, which are a British Overseas Territory. France itself holds territory in the Americas and in Oceania, but it is counted once, under Europe, where metropolitan France sits.

Which F country is the newest to the United Nations?

Fiji, admitted on October 13, 1970, three days after independence from the United Kingdom. Finland joined on December 14, 1955, between France in 1945 and Fiji in 1970, so Fiji remains the most recent of the three.

Sources & references

• United Nations member states list (the three F names and their admission dates: Fiji October 13, 1970; Finland December 14, 1955; France October 24, 1945; Micronesia listed as "Micronesia (Federated States of)" under M; Guyana listed under G). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_United_Nations
• Fiji Permanent Mission to the United Nations, About (Fiji became the 127th UN member on October 13, 1970, three days after independence from the United Kingdom; UN peacekeeping contribution). https://www.un.int/fiji/about
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Fiji summary (officially Republic of Fiji; South Pacific; area 18,272 square kilometers; population 902,700, 2026 estimate; capital Suva; about 300 islands, about 100 inhabited; Viti Levu and Vanua Levu; dependency of Rotuma; crown colony 1874; independence 1970; republic 1987). https://www.britannica.com/summary/Fiji-republic-Pacific-Ocean
• CIA World Factbook, Fiji (capital Suva on Viti Levu; population 951,611, 2024 estimate; area 18,274 square kilometers; South Pacific location). https://theworldfactbook.org/country/fiji.html
• Britannica Kids, Finland (Northern Europe; capital and largest city Helsinki; area 338,491 square kilometers; population 5,655,000, 2025 estimate; about one third of territory north of the Arctic Circle). https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Finland/274314
• Finland country article (Nordic country in Northern Europe; borders Sweden, Norway, Russia; over 180,000 recorded lakes; independence declared after the Russian Revolution of 1917; EU member 1995; Eurozone 1999; NATO member 2023). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland
• CIA World Factbook, France (capital Paris; population 68,512,806, 2025 estimate; area 643,801 square kilometers, metropolitan France 551,500 square kilometers; permanent UN Security Council member; hybrid system since 1958; euro introduced January 1999; five overseas entities became French regions and part of France proper). https://theworldfactbook.org/country/france.html
• France country article (Western Europe; overseas regions and territories including French Guiana in South America; metropolitan borders; 18 integral regions, five overseas; combined area 632,702 square kilometers; population over 69.1 million, 2026 estimate; Paris metropolitan population over 13 million). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Republic
• Dependent territories list (Falkland Islands: United Kingdom, Overseas territory; Faroe Islands: Denmark, Autonomous territory; French Polynesia: France, Overseas collectivity; French Guiana listed as an overseas department of France; French Southern and Antarctic Lands as an overseas territory with no permanent population). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependent_territory